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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. wind — moving air
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. spring — the season
  7. wind — moving air
  8. perch — the fish
  9. bear — the animal
  10. season — in sport
  11. spring — of water
  12. net — after costs
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. net — for catching
  15. spring — a coil
  16. net — in sport
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. bear — the animal

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com